Exhausted from a full day of driving, Mei Lijun had remained uncharacteristically quiet during most family discussions that evening. It wasn’t until lying in bed with his wife that the self-proclaimed patriarch of the Mei family finally voiced his thoughts—expressing concern over Xiang Xiaoxia’s increasingly authoritarian approach to their children’s affairs.
As the nominal head of household witnessing both his daughter’s escalating conflicts with her mother and his son’s emotionally fraught romantic entanglements, Mei Lijun felt a profound sense of helplessness. Yet somewhere in his wine-fogged mind stirred a stubborn conviction: There must be something I—as family leader—can do to mediate this turmoil.
Gently massaging his wife’s shoulders, he ventured cautiously:
“Didn’t we agree before that ‘children’s fortunes are their own to make’? Why intervene now in their relationships?”
“Intervene?!” Xiang Xiaoxia twisted to glare at him. “You’re a state cadre! Would you really condone your son’s philandering?”
“Philandering? That’s absurd!” Mei Lijun’s kneading fingers paused indignantly. “These three grew up practically siblings. Their current arrangement is fully consensual—no sneaking around. What’s wrong with that?”
“Wrong? Our greedy son has two girlfriends, and his fool father sees nothing amiss?”
Xiang Xiaoxia sat upright, her voice dropping to a stern whisper: “Stop viewing this through your son’s lens. Consider Yuan-yuan and Youxi’s positions—their parents’ feelings! The Xia and Lin families have been our neighbors for decades. There must be accountability!”
“But the girls clearly don’t object… They’re not even rivals—their bond is deeper than just competing for our son. Do you truly want him to choose one and alienate the other forever?”
Mei Lijun nodded slowly. “That computer became the foundation of his empire. The boy’s always seen paths we can’t imagine…”
“No matter his brilliance,” Xiang Xiaoxia snapped, “he can’t rewrite societal norms! Even if he becomes China’s richest man tomorrow, I won’t let history remember my son as a two-titting scoundrel!”
The couple fell silent, staring at the ceiling’s water stains—each privately marveling at their son’s trajectory from precocious child to tech mogul.
“Fine,” Mei Lijun finally conceded. “But choosing between them is like picking which hand to amputate.”
“He must learn life offers no perfect solutions,” Xiang Xiaoxia said firmly. “One cannot have both fish and bear’s paw.”
With that final pronouncement, she switched off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness thick with unspoken tensions.
The “Mei-You-Xi Trio” spent their holiday in carefully orchestrated harmony:
To Xiang Xiaoxia’s cautious relief, the trio displayed no overt intimacy—no stolen kisses or lingering touches. Stranger still, the two young women seemed inseparable, often excluding Mei Fang from their shopping excursions and movie outings.
“Why aren’t you joining them?” Xiang Xiaoxia interrogated her son during one such absence, gesturing at his laptop.
“Art assets review,” Mei Fang replied tersely, rotating a character model onscreen. “Keeping 500 employees fed doesn’t pause for holidays.”
His mother’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve told them about our talk, haven’t you?”
“Of course not!” Mei Fang laughed nervously. “If they knew you demanded I choose, wouldn’t there be drama? I’m protecting your image!”
Xiang Xiaoxia left unsatisfied, unaware her daughter was simultaneously engineering a far more explosive revelation…
The Car Ride That Shook the Mei Family
On departure day, the convoy split unexpectedly—Mei Ya chose her parents’ car over her brother’s, clutching her phone with unusual intensity.
“Not riding with your brother?” Mei Lijun beamed at his daughter’s claimed desire for “father-daughter time”—until noticing her furtive glances at the following vehicle.
Xiang Xiaoxia’s maternal radar pinged. “Xiao Ya… have Youxi and Yuan-yuan said anything about your brother lately?”
“Hmm?” Mei Ya feigned distraction, thumbs flying across her phone screen in Shadow Blade 1, the pay-to-win mobile game where she dominated servers. “They’re just super close now. Probably tired of gege always working…”
“Too close.” Xiang Xiaoxia’s knuckles whitened on the seatbelt. “Show me their social media.”
With theatrical hesitation, Mei Ya opened a private group chat, then gasped. “MOM! DISASTER!”
Two posts filled the screen:
“Meeting you was destiny’s design. Every moment since feels like a dream woven from starlight. Let this bond carry us through all lifetimes.” The most update n0vels are published on NovᴇlFir(e).nᴇt
“Mountains have their woods, woods their branches . May we forever be each other’s shelter.”
The accompanying photo—two feminine hands intertwined—sent Xiang Xiaoxia into cardiac-arrest-level shock.
“Dating!” Mei Ya wailed with expertly feigned despair. “Now gege will die alone! The Mei bloodline ends with us! Waaaaah!”
As her parents spiraled into panic, the young schemer secretly texted her brother:
“Operation Window Theory complete. Prepare for Mom’s total surrender within 48 hours.”